Newswire

The Pittsburgh City Council has voted unanimously to sell $20 million in municipal bonds and lend the proceeds to the public-private partnership that will buy and operate the Pittsburgh Pirates for at least the next five seasons.

The 9-0 vote was arrived at after council members had spent 2 1/2 hours quizzing city officials about the bond sale, which the city administration hopes can be completed by April 8, opening day.